Wednesday, October 15, 2014

In August, the media was abuzz
with the opening of the Park Hyatt hotel in New York. Eight years
in the making, it was intended to be a New York icon. Even so, the vision for
the interior design was created by the Toronto firm Yabu Pushelberg (YP) which has
been our client for many years.

We started work on this project in
May 2009 but the carpets were not installed until August 2014. Through experience,
we have become accustomed to the lengthy process attached to carpets in iconic
hotels, but we thought it would be interesting for our blog readers to see how a carpet project might extend over five years.

Ana Cunningham was the Creative
Matters designer assigned to this project from start to end and here she explains
the process.

How many pieces did you create for the Park Hyatt New York?

There were five rugs in the Glow design (from our Aerial
Collection) for the lobby and one custom piece for a lounge named the "Courtyard."

Glow in the lobby at the Park Hyatt New York 90% wool, 10% silk : 72 oz : hand tufted in a low, tight loop with 30% tip shearing

What were the creative considerations of the spaces?

When we started the design process, Alienor Guilhem - who was
at that time based in YP’s Toronto office - had some of the finishes selected.Metal finishes, a sample of the marble
floor and some fabrics gave us direction for selecting the colour palettes. She
printed out imagery as inspiration for the Courtyard
design.

In both locations, we knew we were working with spaces that were
fairly neutral, giving the rugs centre stage. With the Courtyard, we were
really able to play with the design and include a variety of colours (the rug
ended up with 14 colours and 18 blends). With Glow, the organic orbs gave
relief to the undulating linework in both the walls and floor.

How did you and YP eventually decide to use a customized
version of Glow?

After the preliminary concepts were complete (we had to
reconfigure the Glow pattern for each of the five different sizes), we started asking
the mill to supply samples. Only one sample of the Courtyard carpet was
required for approval. However, the Glow colouration required many samples
before the final colourway was selected. We initially thought the original Glow design in silver would work but
the marble floor was much warmer in tone, causing this colourway to look much
greener than anticipated. We tried various approaches. Some matched the warm
taupe of the floor too closely, causing it to blend in (which was not the
desired effect). The final approved custom colourway was on the bluer side
grey, with a hint of violet to inject a touch more life.

What were the practical considerations?

When it came to quality of the carpets, we suggested a
low tight loop for the Glow design which we knew from experience would stand up to the heavy foot traffic
expected in a hotel lobby. For the quieter Courtyard, we recommended a cut pile
quality which created a more residential look.

Detail in the custom carpet for the Courtyard

What influenced your mill selection for this project?

From early on in the project, we planned to use a
mill in Thailand that we have been working with since Creative Matters opened
for business 25 years ago. We were confident their handtufted quality would be the best
for a busy hotel.

You said you went through many samples – how does that work?

To have a sample made, we need to select colour poms.
Because the Glow design requires a very specific tonal transition from one
colour to the next, we needed to ensure that none of the areas were too low or too
high in contrast. Essentially, if one colour turned out to be incorrect, it would
throw the whole design off.

Grey poms

For each sample, we sent an email to the Thai mill specifying the colour by referring to
poms from our ARS pom box (the mill has the same box). If the ARS box did not have
the appropriate tones, we would have to send custom poms. Our orders always include
a quick computer rendering of the sample but what appears on a screen will
never be accurate. Poms are the only way to understand
the colours we need to achieve. Once the mill completes the sample, it is sent
to us via FedEx. Generally it takes four to six weeks to receive a sample but if necessary we can expedite the process.

Once the final sample has been approved, how to you continue
to play a role in the production of the carpet?

Once the sample is approved,we prepare the production order and send it to the mill. We tag the sample noting approved colours, quality and techniques such as the 30% tip shearing which adds another level of dimension to the rugs. The mill then completes a CAD (a computer design) where our designs are placed into the required format for production. The CAD is sent to us for final approval prior to commencing. During production, we ask for photos because it’s always useful to see the goods on the loom - a last chance
for changes before latex is applied to the back. We also follow the shipping
of the carpets to ensure they arrive on time.

The Park Hyatt rugs arrived at our New York warehouse in
July 2013 where they were inspected by the client and YP with rave reviews. They
remained in storage until shortly before the hotel opened its doors this
August. Carpets are generally the last items to go in, once all the other
trades are done.

Photo: Ben Schlappig, One Mile at a Time

For budgetary reasons, you often never see your finished
work – how does that feel?

True, we don’t all get to see the rugs we worked on in
person but for this project I have had the unexpected pleasure of seeing the Glow carpet well displayed in the October issue of Surface Magazine with none other than Mario Testino artfully placed upon it.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Just like fashion designers, we have our custom pieces
(haute couture) and our collections (ready-to-wear). However, we don’t walk our
carpets down the runway, so trade shows are where we present our collections
“in the wool” to current and potential retailers.

We are shortly off to NYICS – the New York International
Carpet Show - taking place this year from September 7 – 9. It’s been
interesting to see this relatively new fair (10 years) steadily growing.
Domotex in Germany and Forza Tappeti in Italy are longer-running and among the ones
we have attended regularly during our 25 years in the business.

While a show is always a special time to connect with
trusted retailers, friends and trends, two particularly exciting things are
happening for us this year. After XX years of introducing collections, this is
the first time we will present a collection made with natural dyes. And, it’s
also the first time we will host a draw at our booth when, in collaboration
with our fair trade endorser Label STEP, we will draw the winner of a stunning
(if we say so ourselves) handknotted rug.

The Natural Dye Collection was only set into motion during
Carol Sebert’s spring trip to Nepal when she finally discovered a dye master
with the requisite skill in natural dyes. Once the design “Percolate” was
established, then came the inevitable oftoing and froing with samples in various colourways. We finally settled
on five for the launch of the collection but only one of them has made it off
the loom in time for the show. Mulberry, which will take pride of place at our
booth, thankfully arrived in Toronto last week.

Unlike fashion, our collections are not tied to a particular
year and season. While rugs within collections continue to be popular with our
retailers, we continue to add designs and colourways. Consequently, also up front and centre
in the booth, will be Drift and Shale, two new designs for the XXV Collection
released in 2013. Within that collection, we will also premiere three new
colourways of the highly popular Dream design, and a blue version ofmuch-loved Suspension.

In our Toronto office, Abigail Williams is the chief
logistician for trade shows because - in addition to her design work - she also
manages CMI’s relationships with retailers. In order to have the new designs in
time for the show, she is in constant communication with the different mills. She,
more than anyone, breathed a heavy sigh of relief when Shale left Nepal on
Monday headed directly to New York via Fedex.

Last week, Abigail was busy was selecting all the rugs she
wanted for the show and physicallyloading them up on a skid. In New York, she will unload them and make
them all pretty with the input of president Carol Sebert who is naturally an
essential member of the trade show delegation.

Abigail still has to finalize the details of the draw with
Reto Aschwandan who will travel to New York from Label STEP’s headquarters in
Switzerland. The rug raffle has an interesting history dating back to our anniversary celebrations last November when many visitors were invited to take part in the design process. From the 60 designs that emerged, six were selected for online voting and “#58” was the design that headed off to Nepal. No doubt, Abigail is looking forward to making the call that tells someone they are the lucky winner of a one-of-kind rug valued at $5,000.

And when business moves from the trade show to somewhere
more comfortable, our favourite place to entertain clients in New York is the Soho
Grand hotel where many of our rugs can be appreciated in situ. Nothing is more apt
than discussing floorcoverings in the bar area while gazing upon a splendid sweep
of our woven axminster.

Abigail doesn’t know it yet, but once the trade show
business is complete, there’ll be a quick trip to the Park Hyatt. The hotel only
opened last week, so it will be the first opportunity to inspect our lobby
carpeting.And thinking back to our
collections, it’s interesting to note that although the Park Hyatt was a custom
project, the designer at Yabu Pushelberg actually chose to use the Glow design
from our Aerial collection which was remastered in an exclusive colour
combination.